5 Ways to Gain Resilience and Bounce Back From Lows

Several years ago, I felt I was the anathema of the world: struck with a job that drained my energy like a vampire, day in and day out. Getting up becomes a chore. I woke up in the middle of a night, dreadful of repetitive tasks ahead. Like a boat drifting along a river without a direction, I had a low moment in life.

As humans, who hasn’t had such lows in life? Bad economy, sluggish job market, layoffs, uncertainties, life sometimes turns unexpectedly, whether we are prepared or not. Friends, familiar locations and comfortable surroundings give way to an unknown terrain, dark deep channels with no light in sight, crossroads waiting to choose, what should you do? Here are 5 tips for you:

1. You need to eat well and sleep 8 hours a night. It helps lift you up. Don’t let yourself down just because life shuts down on you. Better, get up at 4 and do some physical activities. If you forget nutritious meals and stay up at night, you will not only finish today poorly, but start off tomorrow on a wrong foot. No matter how tough the situation, remember to keep the priority, you, front and center.
2. Create value. Just because you are down, doesn’t mean you don’t have something of value to offer. Quite the opposite, since you have free time on hand; it could be the perfect time to be creative. Start from yourself, write down 10 ideas for your dream job, if you done that, treat self for a cake and come back to write 20 more. How about establishing a Facebook page for your friends’ shop, get 50 new connections through Linkedin?
3. Open up for all opportunities. Someone once said, there is never lack of chances, only lack of guided eyes. During the good times, we become so used to staying inside a comfort zone that we don’t always look for other opportunities. However, when you are low, chances are you need whatever available to get you out of the stinky swamp. Get out and show up at social events, speak up and seek help.
4. Give out for free. Offer your time and expertise to help others, mentor a youth, take care of your sister’s kids while she works, and make a speech to your middle school about the importance of education. Give and you will receive.
5. Read a lot, write a lot. Forget the “to do” list, Create an “I did” list. From time to time, you need to remind how much you have achieved. Forget the situation; forgive someone in your life. Who doesn’t like the feeling of completion and forgiveness?

To combat the life’s low, My Action Plans: treat self well, Lift self up from the bad situation, keep moving, pay attention to knocks of Mr. Opportunities, make self valuable. Create things that people will need and like, give these things out for free. Finally, remember how much you have done, and keep doing the right things.

Years later, I quit that job, start writing stories and editing articles, I also found another one I am passionate about and jumping out the bed every morning. The boat I am sitting in is steadily moving forward, I can feel breeze blows my face, picturesque sceneries swaying by.

Are you on board? Share with me your tips by leaving a comment.